Charles Leclerc shatters Ferrari fans’ expectations after Chinese GP qualifying: “Very difficult”. Ferrari falls backward in Chinese GP qualifying.

Saturday’s track action has come to an end for the second race weekend of the 2025 season. While Friday’s performance suggested a tight battle for the top positions, McLaren once again asserted its dominance in qualifying. Unfortunately for Ferrari fans, the team slipped back to being the third or fourth force, failing to replicate its Friday pace. Here’s what Charles Leclerc had to say following Chinese GP qualifying.

The situation was clear. Throughout the weekend in Shanghai, from the sole free practice session onward, Lewis Hamilton appeared more competitive than his teammate. Drawing on his experience—having won the Grand Prix six times—he managed to secure his first pole for Ferrari, valid for the sprint race. During the Italian night, he also claimed victory, bringing Maranello its first “win” of 2025.

Charles Leclerc, on the other hand, struggled throughout the 5 km of the Asian circuit. His biggest losses came in the first sector, particularly through Turns 1, 2, and 3, where he and his teammate took entirely different lines. He qualified fourth in the sprint shootout and finished fifth in the sprint race, unable to regain his position from Russell.

In the Grand Prix qualifying session, his performance dropped even further. Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, car number 16, qualified sixth behind Lewis Hamilton with a time of 1:31.021—nearly half a second off Oscar Piastri’s pole.

However, the outlook for tomorrow’s race is entirely different. As seen in the 19-lap sprint, tire degradation—especially graining—will be a crucial factor. Managing tire wear efficiently without stressing them too much in the early laps will be key.

Speaking to Sky Sport F1, Charles Leclerc commented on the situation heading into the race: “The others improved a lot over the weekend, while we didn’t as much as we should have. If I wasn’t happy with my lap yesterday, today I am a bit more because I gave everything I had and couldn’t do more.” – the Monegasque driver pointed out.

“I wasn’t expecting a miracle because I don’t like this track. We need to analyze the data since track conditions and pressures have changed, but they changed for everyone. Maybe they affected us more than others, but we need to understand why.”

Charles Leclerc was also not optimistic about the race: “We know Lewis is very strong, but we have to be careful because this isn’t a great starting position. Being in front with clean air helps a lot with tire management. I don’t think we’ll be able to match our sprint pace, but we’ll try to maximize what we can. This morning’s win was positive, but looking ahead, it’s going to be very difficult.” – the Monegasque driver concluded.